Causality Conductor
by NaXyld
Summary: 1998: the Imperial Japanese Battleship Nagato disappears during the first fleet's retreat from Sadogashima. 1944: Major Sakamoto Mio, escorting a Fuso Fleet towards Britannia, makes first contact with a mysterious battleship. The fate of both words are forever changed with a new causality conductor. Warning: OC X Mio, rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

Notes:

Yamato Class Battleship – in the muv luv universe, these massive battleships survived world war two and some of them were refit to modern standards in the advent of an alien threat known as BETA. The _Nagato_, the ship this story will be following, is one such ship.

Sea-Hawk Helicopter – the Muv Luv equivalent of the real life Sea King helicopters.

Sea-sparrow missiles – Anti-air missiles designed to be launched from ships. Note: the real life sea-sparrow missiles could not be fit onto battleships; attempts to do so with the US _Iowa_ class battleships found that the missile system could not sustain the strain of a battleship's turrets firing.

CIWS - "Close In Weapon System", it is a ship's point defence weapon designed for shooting down enemy missiles and aircraft at close range.

XXXXX

Prologue

XXXXX

1998 - Sadogashima

The sounds of fire continued to rage. The sounds of panic, desperation and death easily distinguished themselves through the limitations of electronic communications as the battle for Sado Island – or also known as Sadogashima – raged on.

For Captain Hitsumiro Noyuki, Captain of the Imperial Japanese Yamato-Class Battleship _Nagato_, it was a particularly painful situation. Being a native of Sadogashima, seeing his home being overrun by the alien monsters known as BETA – Beings of Extra-Terrestrial origin Adversary to the human race – was something that he wished to close his eyes from and convince himself that it was a dream. Even though it was nighttime he could see the boats sailing out to sea, hoping to reach the safety of the First Fleet, and beyond that he could see the advance of the alien swarm, devouring all in their path. However, he had a duty to preform and he refused to abandon that duty.

"All ships, firing target Kawada coastline!" the voice of Admiral Tadokoro, Captain of the _Yamato_ and commander of the First Imperial Fleet, the fleet which the _Nagato_ was a part of, barked over the intercoms on all ships. "FIRE!"

"Fire!" Noyuki yelled on the bridge of his own battleship, as did every captain on their own ships, still unwilling to abandon their duty in the face of utter defeat.

Even as the shells tore large holes in the alien swarms, Noyuki and every other Captain knew this was only a delaying tactic – there was no saving Sadogashima now; there was only saving the last defenders and evacuees of the island that was once a part of the Empire of Japan. Now, just like the lands in China and Russia ravaged by the BETA, Sadogashima, Noyuki's home, was about to become an inhabitable wasteland.

Shells after shells proved to be ineffective, and when the last survivor got onboard a ship of the navy, Admiral Tadokoro closed his eyes and issued the order that every captain knew would inevitably come: "retreat".

Noyuki had known that this would happen – since the American garrison deserted Sadogashima, they had been left to fend for themselves. While the Americans, the men who had promised to help them defend their homeland, fled, the Japanese attempted to hold their ground – and paid for it in blood. However, what could they do? Abandon their people? Even so, with the overwhelming odds, Noyuki could only stay calm during the battle by forcing himself to forget that it was a lost battle, instead focusing on the next order, the reloading of the shells, the aiming of the next target, the making of decisions... anything to delay the moment when the order to retreat would come.

However, the three words came from the Admiral's voice: "All ships, retreat".

The fight and tension escaped Noyuki like a balloon being deflated – instantly, his shoulders sagged, his disciplined posture was broken and his impassive face was replaced by one of anguish. "...turn this ship around. We're... leaving."

Even as the _Nagato_ sailed away from Sadogashima with the rest of the First Imperial Fleet, Noyuki slumped into his chair. Being a Captain at the young age of 20 – and of a Yamato-Class Battleship, no less – was a major achievement for the young naval officer. He had distinguished himself in campaigns in China and Russia, and he had been credited with saving many lives of both pilots and sailors thanks to his quick thinking, moments he had taken with silent pride. However, all of it – joining the navy, saving lives, becoming the Captain of the _Nagato_ – seemed utterly trivial and insignificant when he looked outside the window and saw his hometown being desecrated and ravished by the Alien threat he swore to protect his nation from.

If he could not protect his own town, how could he possibly hope to protect anything?

"...Captain?"

Even without looking up, Noyuki knew that voice: It was Lieutenant-Commander Abasaki Hiroshi, the second in command of the _Nagato_. Despite being over ten years older, the Lieutenant was content and comfortable with his position in simply aiding the young Captain, knowing that what he lacked in experience he could make up with talent and skill. However, there was no time for such thought now.

"...Captain," the Lieutenant continued, "We did the best we could, given the circumstances. The fact we saved that many lives on Sadogashima was a miracle-"

"That is nothing but an _excuse_, lieutenant." Noyuki muttered. "I failed in my duty."

"With all due respect, sir," the Lieutenant argued, "You did your utmost best! Everyone who knew you would be absolutely proud of you!" This would not do; it was most likely the absolute worst time for the captain to fall into a depression. The BETA were poised to strike at the mainland and Japan would need all of her resources, including the _Nagato_. It would be devastating if the Captain of a battleship was in this state, and as the Lieutenant, his trusted confidant and friend, he needed to pull him out of it.

Just then, there was mild shaking, as well as a flash coming from the otherwise nighttime sky. Fearing the worst, Noyuki sprang out of his seat and looked out the window, as did everyone else on their bridge.

It was something out of Noyuki's nightmares. As if it had not been enough that the island had fallen, there now stood on that island a BETA hive. Even now, he could see it's structures grow, becoming a grotesque home to the alien invaders.

"A BETA Hive... on Japanese soil..." One of the crewmen uttered in despair. "Sadogashima truly is no more."

However, seeing the hive stand on his home, something ignited in Noyuki's mind. "...Lieutenant... no, Hiroshi."

"Yes?" the Lieutenant turned, surprised to hear the trembling had disappeared from the Captain.

"...I swear on my life," Noyuki clenched his fist, "I _will_ return here. I will return here with the _Nagato_, and someday, whether it be one, ten or sixty years from now, I _will_ wipe the BETA off of the face of Sadogashima!" he was reaching yelling point now. "No matter how long it takes, I will return home!"

XXXXX

It was a fog that appeared suddenly and without warning.

An hour into their retreat back to a mainland harbour, a sudden fog had descended upon the fleet. It was no such fog that Noyuki had seen nor experienced before – lookouts were reporting zero visibility, radio crewmen were reporting that they could not make contact with any other ships and everyone was worried. Not to mention, it was completely unnatural for a fog to just appear like that, with no warning whatsoever.

"...I do not like this." Noyuki muttered, remaining on the bridge. He was looking through the window at the dense fog, wondering just what was happening.

"I have never seen anything like it, sir." the Lieutenant added. "Nothing is working – it's as if we have been cut off."

Everyone was silent for a moment, the tension being thick in the air. However, it changed when someone cut it with a shout. "Captain! We see something! They look like lights!"

XXXXX

The Atlantic Ocean – 1944

XXXXX

Standing up, Noyuki narrowed his eyes. Sure enough, he saw lights, and at the same time the fog was beginning to lift. However, the radio operator was still having no luck.

"All ships, this is the _Nagato_, requesting a reply, over... damn, no one is responding."

Just then the fog completely lifted – as swiftly as it came. However, instead of admiring the weather phenomenon there was now a much more pressing matter for the entire crew to deal with.

The lights turned out to be originating from a massive ship, and even worse, it was headed right for them.

"Look out! Collision!"

"Hard to Starboard!" Noyuki yelled. "All hands, brace for impact!"

The massive battleship slowly lumbered towards the right, and to their great relief the two ships missed, even though it was only by mere inches. After realizing that the ship was no longer headed for an imminent collision, the crew managed to get enough panic out of their systems to take a close look at the ship that they had nearly slammed right into.

To Noyuki, who was watching from the bridge, it seemed like something straight out of a history textbook. He recalled seeing the same ship from a black and white picture, and while he may have initially believed it to be some sort of replica he knew that none existed in Japan. His other first thought that it was an aircraft carrier recommissioned to fight the BETA, but even if that was the case that would not explain the fact that the aircraft being carried were zero fighters – antiques, useless on the modern battlefield.

And the most damning evidence of all were the words "_Akagi_" painted on the side.

"...what kind of sick joke is this?" the lieutenant muttered. "The _Akagi_? What is going on!? It should have been sunk at midway – over 50 years ago!"

Noyuki, meanwhile, got on the radio and switched to a public channel. "Attention, unidentified aircraft carrier! This is Captain Hitsumiro of the _Nagato_. This is a restricted combat zone under the authority of the Imperial Japanese Navy: First Fleet! State the name of your captain and ship name immediately! I repeat, this is Captain Hitsumiro of the _Nagato_, this is a restricted combat zone..."

XXXXX

Major Sakamoto Mio of the Fuso Navy got off of the deck, having fallen as the _Akagi_ made an emergency turn after seeing a ship of unknown origin nearly collide with the aircraft carrier. Having gotten her bearings straight, she turned to take a good look at the said ship. It certainly was nothing like she had seen before, with a shape that looked similar to the Yamato but was completely metallic, lacking the wooden decks that all battleships had.

Realizing that this was no time to be standing around, she immediately ran towards the bridge. Arriving at the command centre of the _Akagi_, she heard the strange words on the radio: some nonsense about this being a restricted area under the authority of some "Imperial Japan". At the very least, the man on the other side of the radio sounded like he spoke Fusonese, so communications would be easy – or so she hoped.

Taking the radio, she spoke. " 'Captain Hitsumiro'," she said cautiously, "this is Major Sakamoto Mio of the Fuso Navy. We do not know this "Imperial Japan" you speak of; you are currently in the middle of our convoy."

There was silence on the other side, then the man responded: "Convoy? Major, our ship is currently in formation with the First Fleet-"

XXXXX

"Captain," the Lieutenant said silently, interrupting him as he was about to tell this "Major Sakamoto", "You... might want to take a look at this."

The Captain paused mid sentence as he looked up and he finally realized the full scale of their situation. The _Yamato_ was nowhere to be found; instead they were indeed surrounded by ships that the crew of the _Nagato_ knew to have been retired decades ago. "What... what on earth is this? Where are we!? Where is the first fleet!? We could not have been in the fog for that long!"

"Captain Hitsumiro?" the voice of Major Sakamoto continued over the radio. "please respond. Captain?"

Noyuki paused to think for a moment, weighing his options. Instead of wondering whether or not this was a hallucination, instead he now had to focus on their next move. There would be plenty of long term questions later. As for the matter of their situation, Noyuki knew that his first priority was to find out where he was and to find a way back to Japan. With not even the global positioning systems working, he had no choice but to rely on the locals."...Major Sakamoto," Noyuki conceded, "...I request permission for our ship to join your convoy. We appear to be lost."

There was silence on the other side for a few moments, during which Noyuki assumed a discussion was being made, then the reply came. "Understood. We will permit you to travel with us, but be warned, we will sink your ship if you attempt to harm us."

"Rest assured, Major, we have no such intentions."

After setting the radio down, Noyuki hoped to get some rest. However, none came when another announcement dashed all hopes of relaxation. "Sir!" the radar operator announced. "Unknown object, flying in at a high speed! It is approaching the unknown fleet!"

"Is it theirs?" The Lieutenant asked.

"We don't know, sir!" the operator replied.

Just then, the lookout radioed in. "Captain, this is the lookout! The _Akagi_ and allied ships are entering combat stations!"

Noyuki paused. Does this mean that the unknown flying object was an enemy? Was it friendly? Was it a sign that the "Fuso" fleet was going to betray them? "...all hands, combat stations. Prepare anti-air defences."

"Aye Captain!" The Lieutenant yelled in acknowledgement of the orders. "All hands, combat stations! Prepare anti-air defences. Activate CIWS. Sea Sparrow launchers one and two ready! This is not a drill!"

The _Nagato _raised her cannons and her turrets, placed under long white spheres, began to spin and aimed themselves at the sky. However, at the moment there was nothing to shoot at and simply stood at the ready, waiting to unleash their deadly payload at a moment's notice.

Back on the bridge, everyone was silent, wondering just what was about to happen. "...could it be a blip in the radar?" someone suggested after a while, breaking the silence.

"...perhaps-"

Their discussion was interrupted at that moment by the sound of a sudden explosion which illuminated their view on the right side. From what Noyuki could see, he made out the fact that some red light had streaked across a Fuso Destroyer, promptly causing an explosion. However, even though the light moved, it resembled something which stirred up anger within the young captain.

"Lasers!"

The cry came out among the crew. "Keep calm! Watch out, it could be anywhere!"

"Captain!" one of the officers reported back on the bridge. "The unidentified object is coming within visual range!"

Hearing that, Noyuki and Hiroshi immediately looked out the window to see the approaching object.

His first impression was that it was some type of advanced aircraft. It had a hexagonal pattern on it's outer body, with colours of black and red. It also looked siminar to a flying manta ray, or perhaps a drone. However, any hope that the aircraft was friendly instantly disappeared when the... _thing_ fired some sort of beam from it's body, giving Noyuki shock number two: The beam _turned_. It had turned from it's original exit angle from the body and made a direct hit on a cruiser, sinking it immediately with most hands.

"What in the world -" Noyuki gasped. No one had seen anything like this. To the crew, it was a nightmare come true – a fast, homing laser-class hostile.

"Sir! The Fuso ships are opening fire! The _Akagi_ is also launching her planes!"

Noyuki forced his eyes away from the unidentified hostile aircraft. "Set the hostile to track number 0901." he ordered the radio operator before lifting his binoculars to look on the deck of the _Akagi_. "...Lieutenant," he said slowly as he saw the leader of the formation ready to take off, "...what on earth is that?"

"What is what, sir?" Hiroshi asked in confusion, to which Noyuki simply replied by handing him the binoculars. Getting a look of the flight deck, Hiroshi frowned. "I... I don't know sir. What on earth is she wearing?"

"I don't know, but whatever those are, they definitely aren't pants." Noyuki muttered. "Pants don't have propellers."

"She's... she's flying, sir." Hiroshi told Noyuki as the planes on board the _Akagi_ took off.

"Flying? Let me see..." the captain took the binoculars again, seeing the formation. "...by gods, you're right. Just what is going on here..."

However, there would be time for questions later. Shaking his head, he lowered his binoculars. "We've got other stuff to do, Lieutenant." He then turned to the general bridge crew. "Deploy Dolphin Squadron. We have ships down; there are bound to be survivors in the water."

XXXXX

"Dolphin two, ready for take off."

"Dolphin three, ready for launch."

"All units, this is Dolphin-Lead, affirmative. Launch at the ready. Keep tight and don't let the lasers distract you."

"Yeah, and maybe the bedbugs won't bite."

To Lieutenant Kinoshita Minori, the 19 year old pilot and leader of the _Nagato_'s search and rescue unit "Dolphin Squadron", it was definitely one of the stranger missions: rescuing crewmen of world war two era ships that had been destroyed by laser fire from a small black and red object.

"Do you think that... _thing_ will shoot at us ma'am?" her co-pilot asked as their Sea-hawk helicopter took off from the _Nagato_'s helicopter pad, followed by two others.

"Only one way to tell." Minori muttered, moving towards the site of the first wreckage. As they flew, another bright red flash streaked behind them. Minori did not see what happened due to the fact she was concentrating on her flying, but she didn't need to - her co-pilot told her everything.

"Holy shit, that thing just shot down a Zero like it was nothing! It didn't even need to aim!"

"Ma'am," the voice of the pilot of Dolphin three came over the radio, "this is Dolphin 3; we have eyes on the crash site and we see the pilot of the downed Zero treading water. We'll break off and regroup with the unit at the earliest possible time."

"Dolphin-Lead acknowledges, Dolphin three." Minori replied, staying on course. On her peripheral vision, she could see the helicopter that was following them from the left break off. "...Dolphin two, this is Dolphin-Lead." she spoke again. "Break off and head for the second sunk destroyer; we'll handle the first one."

"Dolphin two acknowledges, Dolphin-Lead." the cool and calm voice of Dolphin two replied, and the helicopter on the right broke off as well, leaving Minori's helicopter quite alone as it lowered altitude. Minori tried to get as close to the ocean as possible, gambling with the helicopter with the danger that it might get caught or blown into the sea, turning them from rescuers into one of the victims.

"We're here to help!" the voice of the medic called from the passenger area of the helicopter. "Don't panic, we're here to help!"

Perhaps the Fuso sailors were too tired to notice the fact that this aircraft was somehow staying in the air without wings, or maybe it was the fact they read the "rescue unit" portion of the words "Japanese Naval Rescue Unit" painted on the body of the helicopter. Whichever the case,they did not question. "Take the wounded!" they shouted back. "We've got three! The rest of us can stay afloat and wait!"

Moments later, the medic began the task of dragging the wounded onboard, spilling blood on the floor of the Sea-hawk once again as Minori watched the skies nervously, hoping that the strange aircraft did not decide to take a potshot at their helicopter.

XXXXX

"The battle isn't progressing well, captain." Hiroshi reported. "The Fuso Navy's zero fighters are being shot down like flies. Dolphin three is trying to rescue as many as it can, but it's overwhelming it's capacity. The Fuso ships are too tied up in combat to risk sending out their own rescue efforts."

"Any word from the commander of the Fuso Fleet?" Noyuki asked.

"They're too busy with their battle to deal with us, sir. So far, that flying girl seems to be dealing the most significant damage to the hostile, but nothing permanent. That hostile seems to be capable of regeneration."

"Damn it. If it isn't numbers, it's regeneration." Noyuki growled. They couldn't fire the sea-sparrow missiles; it might hit a zero, or worse, the flying girl. They could not also risk shredding the air with the CIWS fire for similar reasons. "Our hands our tied." he muttered.

XXXXX

Mio knew that the battle was not going well. The single Neuroi had caught them off guard, and the conventional fighters weren't lasting long against the lasers. If only she had her wingman, or even another witch by her side, she might be able to finish the battle here and now.

Using her eye, she had seen the core of the neuroi – she just needed to hit it. However, the Neuroi was too quick and the Zeros could not distract it long enough for her to make the finishing blow.

_I need to change my tactic._ She decided. _I'll-_

However, that thought never came to mind as a Neuroi beam that was fired directly at her made it's way.

XXXXX

"new target at 6 o'clock!" the radar operator of the _Nagato_ reported. "It's another hostile!"

"What!?" Noyuki turned and looked out the window just in time to see a laser shoot out from behind the ship, missing the window by inches -

-hitting the "flying girl."

"Flygirl's been hit! She's going down!" a lookout reported.

XXXXX

On the helicopter deck of the _Nagato_, Minori watched as the injured crewmen she had picked up were led off of the deck by both the helicopter and the onboard medics. She leaned back in her seat to catch some rest, but that was short lived when a call came. "Dolphin-Lead, this is bridge. Do you copy?"

"Bridge, this is Dolphin-Lead, I copy loud and clear." Minori replied, snapping herself into a posture in which she was sitting up straight.

"Dolphin-Lead, what is your unit's status?"

"We are dropping off injured survivors onto our ship, sir." she reported. "Dolphin two is on it's way back, and Dolphin three is still picking up downed pilots."

"Affirmative. Dolphin-Lead, new assignment: fly-girl's been hit. We need you to pick her up."

"Flygirl?" Minor asked. "You mean the girl who was flying around with the weird machines on her legs?"

"That's the one. She's been hit and she's down in the ocean. We need you to get her ASAP."

"Affirmative, Bridge. Dolphin-Lead out."

It was just as the communication ended that the helicopter's medic slammed the door shut and yelled from the back. "We're all empty now! We're good to go again at any time."

"Glad to hear. We've got a flygirl to pick up." Minori responded as she brought the Sea-Hawk up again even as another laser shot flew above them.

"...there goes the last zero fighter." the co-pilot muttered. A few moments later, he had a sudden thought. "Hey ma'am?"

"What is it this time?" Minori asked, clearly annoyed that she was once again being interrupted by her co-pilot's paranoid concerns.

"Flygirl and the Zeros are down, right?"

"Mhm. So?"

"So that means... we're the only ones in the air now, right?

"Make your point, damnit."

"Wouldn't that mean... those things would be coming right for us?"

Minori suddenly felt a shadow above her and looked up, only to see the sky being obstructed by the underside of the hostile aircraft.

"Oh..." Minori gasped. "shit!"

She jerked the helicopter right immediately, and it was just as well – the laser streaked by their previous position, missing them by mere inches.

"Too close! This is WAY too close!"

"Bridge, this is Dolphin-Lead!" Minori screamed. "We've got one of the hostiles on our tail and we can't shake it off! Requesting support!"

"Affirmative, Dolphin-Lead." the voice of a bridge operator replied. "Help is on the way. Watch the skies for the sparrows."

XXXXX

"Target bearing locked! Sea sparrows, locked onto the hostiles!"

Noyuki nodded. For better or for worse, with the Zeros and flygirl out of the way they could actually use their weaponry without the fear of hitting an ally. "Commence firing of the Sea-Sparrows!"

The Sea-sparrows were ship-based anti-air missiles designed to intercept flying objects. With the advent of the jet engine back in their world, the conventional anti-aircraft turrets manned by crews were deemed too inefficient. While the primary roles of these missiles were meant to shoot down cruise missiles, it would do the trick here regardless... or so Noyuki hoped as the missiles left the ship and streaked into the air.

"Let's hope it packs enough firepower. The least we can do is distract it." The Lieutenant commented. Moments later, the missiles impacted onto the hostiles, exploding and obstructing the view of them with smoke.

"Did... did that do it?" one of the crewmen asked.

"Radar," Noyuki asked, "How does it look?"

"The signatures are still there, sir! However, it appears to have changed course - " the operator turned to the captain. "they're headed for us!"

"Good. That will get them off of Dolphin Squadron." Noyuki muttered. "I want all hands off of the decks! Get some armour between yourselves and the hostile!"

The crewmen, with the exception of the hanger and medics, all got inside the ship, ready to try and hold on for as long as possible.

XXXXX

"That did the trick, ma'am – it's off of our tail!"

"Great, now let's pick up flygirl and get out of here!"

The Sea-Hawk Helicopter continued on it's path, relieved of the danger of being shot down by stray lasers. Soon enough, the helicopter landed on the water – as a sea-hawk, it was designed to be able to land on water for short amounts of time.

"Are you alright!?" The medic yelled over the sounds of the helicopter, reaching out his hand for flygirl. Looking closely, he saw she had an eyepatch of sorts, and other than the fact it lacked pants her uniform indeed did look like something out of a history textbook.

"I'm fine." Mio told him as she took his hand and climbed aboard the helicopter. "Just who are you guys?"

"I'm Sergant Sagawa. The co-pilot is Officer Shirokawa and the pilot is Lieutenant Kinoshita. We're part of Dolphin Unit, the _Nagato's _very own rescue unit."

"The _Nagato_?" Mio asked. "So you guys are from the strange ship?"

"Hey, you guys are the ones who are strange from our point of view." Minori countered as she began bringing the helicopter up.

"Hmm... doesn't look like there are any injuries." the medic nodded, examining her for any injuries. "It looks like your legs are burned and I'm betting you have some bruises from the impact, but thankfully it was water. It shouldn't be anything serious, but we're bringing you back onboard just in case. It's not safe to be treading water out there."

"Thanks." the Major sighed. "The damn Neuroi caught me by surprise. Otherwise, I would still be flying."

At that point, Minori had to ask something. "Huh? What the hell is a Neuroi?"

The Major turned towards the pilot's seat with a bewildered expression. "Huh?" she asked. "Are you saying you don't know what a Neuroi is?"

"If I did, I wouldn't be asking now, would I?"

"Unbelievable..." Mio muttered. "I thought the whole situation was strange, but I didn't expect it to be like this. To think that you three wouldn't know what a Neuroi is..."

"The entire ship doesn't know." Minori responded flatly.

"And you all decided to just jump in without knowing what you were facing?" Mio laughed. "That's either very brave or very foolish."

"We didn't have much of a choice." the co-pilot cut in. "It was going for us anyways."

Just then, a call came in over the radio. "Lieutenant Kinoshita, can you hear me? Dolphin-Lead, reply immediately."

Minori pressed a button on her radio. "This is Dolphin-Lead, bridge. Reading you loud and clear."

"The two hostiles are right on top of us. It's too dangerous to land – hover and standby until further instructions."

"Affirmative." the pilot cut the link, then cursed. "Great, what the hell do we do now?"

Mio, however, had other concerns. "Are you telling me that your ship, the _Nagato_, is intending on facing two Neuroi alone?"

"Sounds about right." the medic sighed.

"That is suicidal!" Mio argued. "Didn't you see what it did to the entire fleet? One battleship doesn't stand a chance against it, not without witches!"

"Girl, you're starting to babble." Minori said, thinking that her mention of "witches" was a sure sign of delusion. "Get some rest."

"How can I, with two Neuroi flying and nothing to stop them!?"

Just then, the Major noticed something and immediately looked out the window. The medic followed her gaze and found out that she was looking towards the deck of the _Akagi_, where another girl, this time wearing a sailor top with the same kind of strange machines on her legs, stood.

"You had a second?" Minori asked. "Why didn't she sortie with you in the first place-"

"She's a non-combatant! She's not supposed to be wearing that!" Mio exclaimed, but surprise quickly turned into a smile. Despite the girl's own words, Mio knew that she had found something special the moment she had laid eyes on the young girl named Miyafuji Yoshika. Even though the girl said herself that she did not want to fight, the major knew that, in the end, her desire to protect would win out.

The entire helicopter crew was now watching as the girl did a shaky takeoff. Minori feared that she nearly fell into the ocean, but to her surprise she saw the girl start taking off.

Mio opened the helicopter door and yelled towards the girl. "Fly, Miyafuji!"

Minori's mind was spinning. Flying girls aside, the tactical situation was getting worse. "Oh f*ck this!" Getting on the communications systems, she radioed the _Nagato_. "Bridge, this is Dolphin-Lead, do you read me!?"

XXXXX

"Laser damage to port side! Minor damage to bulkheads!"

"Keep firing! Use everything we've got!" Noyuki ordered. "Let's demonstrate to those antique-sailing Fusos what a _real_ battleship is!"

Just then, a radio call came through. "Bridge, this is Dolphin-Lead, do you read me!?"

Even as the ship shuddered from another shake, Noyuki grabbed the radio. "Dolphin-Lead, this is Bridge. We read you loud and clear."

"Captain, that second flygirl taking off – she's a rookie!"

"What!?" Noyuki, who was not even aware that a second girl was in the air, looked at the general direction of the _Akagi_ with his binoculars. Sure enough, there was a second flying girl, except her movements were much more wobbly than what the first girl could do.

"Furthermore, she's allegedly never even flown before! She's going to get herself killed out there!"

"What the hell is the _Akagi_ doing, letting her deploy like that!?" Noyuki yelled. "I'll contact-"

Suddenly, there was some scuffling on the other side, with the voice of Minori shouting "Hey, let go!" being audible before a clear -and familiar- voice finally spoke again. "Erm, test test, is this Captain Hitsumiro Noyuki of the _Nagato_?"

"That is correct. Major Sakamoto Mio, I assume?"

"That's right. Captain, I heard your conversation with your rescue unit. I'm asking you: Please trust Miyafuji."

"Miyafuji?" Noyuki asked. "You mean the flygirl?"

"If that's what you call us, yes." Mio replied. "Please, trust her. I know that she's new, but I'm confident that the two of you can take down the Neuroi."

"Neuroi?" Noyuki asked.

"Those flying aliens."

"So those ARE aliens..." Noyuki muttered. "Well, as much as I would love to trust her, we don't even know what to do. We're throwing everything we've got – sea-sparrow missiles, CIWS, we've even-"

There was another hit, shaking the ship some more and causing Noyuki to skid a bit before regaining his balance. "-we've even fired our main cannons at it; nothing's working. They keep regenerating."

"Neuroi have cores." Mio told him. "If you can destroy the core, the entire Neuroi will be destroyed."

"Well, that would have been useful to know _before _we started fighting." Noyuki muttered. "And just how do you propose we destroy the core?"

"That's where Miyafuji will come in. If you can expose the core, Miyafuji should be able to fly in and destroy it at a close range."

"...understood." Noyuki nodded. Truthfully, this felt like a stupid idea and half of him was convinced that this was either a dream or a hallucination. However, as much as he wanted to keep that idea in his head, the number of times he felt pain after pinching himself proved otherwise.

Placing his hand on his command console, Noyuki thought about the entire situation. Here they were, isolated with no means of resupply, surrounded by ships half a decade behind them. The were lost – possibly in time, too – and yet they were still fighting aliens with the aid of zero fighters and flying girls who didn't wear pants.

However, one thing was certain: No matter what the scenario, there was a hostile and it was his duty to bring it down.

"Load Sea-sparrows five and six." Noyuki commanded.

"Aye Captain! Sea-sparrows five and six loaded!"

"Target: Track number 0901!" Noyuki yelled, with 0901 being the first Neuroi to appear. "Commence firing of the Sea-Sparrows!"

From the midsection of the _Nagato_, two streaks flew up and headed right for the Neuroi circling overhead, impacting it on the main body. As Noyuki saw the impact from the bridge, he sincerely hoped that it revealed the "weak spot" the major had told him about.

XXXXX

From the helicopter, Mio saw the _Nagato _fire it's streaking light. She admitted that she did not know what it was; the closest thing she could think of were the rockets that Sanya used. However, there would be time for discovery later. Right now, there were Neuroi.

Having watched the impact with her eyepatch removed from her eye, she saw it through the smoke – a glint of purple.

"There!" She yelled into her receiver. "Now, Miyafuji!"

XXXXX

"Captain! Look! The flygirl!"

Noyuki looked up at his Lieutenant's beckoning to see Miyafuji flying under the "Neuroi", bringing a rifle up and shooting at the alien with it. Looking through his binoculars, he could see some sort of purple object shatter.

_Was that the core!? _

A moment later, the entire Neuroi exploded in a shower of white lights and fragments, eliciting cheers from the entire bridge. "Track number 0901 – eliminated!" the radar operator announced.

"Woo-hoo!" some of the operators cheered. "One down!"

Noyuki allowed himself a small smile, remembering that there were originally two of them. The rest of the crew calmed down as well when the radar operator announced: "Track number 0902, closing in!"

"Commence firing of the CIWS!" Noyuki yelled, knowing that there was no way the turrets could miss at this close range. On the ship, the turrets, marked by their distinct white cylinder heads, aimed at the surviving Neuroi and fired, shredding it's armour away.

"Captain!" Mio's voice came through the radio. "The second core's been exposed! Let Miyafuji finish it off!"

"Affirmative, Major." Noyuki nodded. "Cease firing!"

The turrets ceased their relentless assault on the Neuroi just as the flygirl Noyuki recognized as Miyafuji flew by the Neuroi, again peppering a certain spot with rifle fire.

Just like the first Neuroi, the second one exploded as well, marking the end of the battle.

It took the crew a few moments to comprehend that they had just not only survived, but emerged victorious against an alien threat that they had never encountered before. There was stunned silence on the bridge which was only broken by the voice of the radio operator – and he too, seemed stunned.

"T-track number 0902... eliminated."

There was another moment of silence, and then cheers erupted. The crewmen were elated at having pulled off a victory right after their bitter defeat at Sadogashima. It was a morale boost that they needed; a reminder that they could still fight and win.

"So, uh, Bridge?" Minori's voice came through a radio lying in the middle of a celebrating command bridge, "Are we clear to land yet?"

XXXXX

"Incredible..." Mio gasped. To think that a rookie witch and a single ship were able to take down not one, but two flying type Neuroi – and on their own first battles against the Neuroi. Looking out at the ship, as well as the witch who was now flying towards it, probably to land, she smiled.

_Miyafuji Yoshika... and the Nagato..._ she thought. _It looks like things will become a lot more interesting._

XXXX

Author's Notes: I really don't have much to explain here, just that I think I will have a lot of fun writing this.


	2. Chapter 2

XXXXX

Chapter 2

XXXXX

_Nagato_

The ship was still abuzz with activity, with men running around reporting damage, patching up injured crewmen and repairing any hull breaches. It was no different on the helicopter deck, where men scrambled to and fro, maintaining the helicopters belonging to Dolphins two and three. However, when they saw that Minori was about to land her own sea-hawk on board, they cleared a path.

"Well," Minori said to the back to Mio, "This is it. The _Nagato_, close up."

"I've never seen anything like it." The witch commented from the helicopter. "To think that your ship is capable of withstanding an attack from the Neuroi... where did you all come from?"

"For all we know, the future." Minori sighed. "I mean, we _had_ an _Akagi_ back where we came from, but it's no longer sailing; that's why we're so confused."

" 'had'?" Mio asked. "What do you mean?"

"We will have plenty of time for questions later." Minori said as the helicopter touched down and medics rushed over, ready to tend to the downed witch. However, when the door opened Mio waved them away. "I'm fine." she assured them. "More importantly, where's Miyafuji?"

Her question was answered moments later by the sounds of a striker engine nearing the same helicopter deck. Turning, Mio caught Miyafuji in her arms as she landed on deck, clearly exhausted.

"Sakamoto-san..." the young witch said tiredly in the major's arms, "I did it... I protected everyone..."

"You did an excellent job, Miyafuji." the Major praised with a smile. However, just then, Yoshika slumped.

"H-hey!" the medic yelled. "We need help-"

"It's alright." Mio assured him. "She's just tired. Let's give her plenty of rest."

The crew of Dolphin-Lead sighed in relief. "Alright." Minori smiled. "Come on, I'll lead you to the medical bay. We can get your legs looked at there too."

"Alright then, Lieutenant." Mio nodded.

XXXXX

"We don't know how you did it..." the Captain of the Akagi said to Noyuki through radio, "But both you and Miyafuji managed to defeat the Neuroi. We thank you for your aid."

"There is no need, Captain." Noyuki replied. "We were merely acting in self-defence." Both captains knew it was a lie; the _Nagato_ had plenty of time to bail out of the fleet before the Neuroi would notice them. The _Nagato_ had chosen to be involved in this battle, and that decision saved the lives of Fuso Sailors and aviators. "We currently have 25 aviators and two... 'witches' on board for rest and medical treatment."

"Understood." the Fuso Captain replied. "I am still attempting to consolidate our fleet and attend to the wounded here. I will radio your ship once that is completed."

"Understood." Noyuki nodded, then shut off the communications. Heading outside towards the outdoor observation towers, he saw that Sea-Hawk helicopters had indeed returned. "Lieutenant!" he called out. "I am going to assess the situation down at the medical facilities. Take charge of the bridge."

"Yes Captain!" Hiroshi saluted as Noyuki headed down the stairs, leaving the command tower and heading below decks. Entering the medical wing, the Japanese Sailors who were not busy attending to the injured Fuso soldiers stood at attention and saluted. "Sir!" Minori, being the highest ranking officer present prior to Noyuki's entrance, called out.

"As you were." Noyuki nodded, allowing everyone to relax and return to their duty. "...so," he asked as he approached Minori, "How does it look?"

"The pilots suffered injuries varying from broken bones to burns, but we should get them patched up soon enough." Minori reported. "Also, there is someone who wishes to see you."

"I have a feeling I know who that is." Noyuki nodded. "Lead the way."

The leader of Dolphin Unit lead Noyuki to a secluded area in the back of the wing, closed off with curtains. Seeing the display of such privacy, Noyuki raised his eyebrows. "Why all the curtains?"

"...decency, Captain." Minori told him. "It's true what they said – those girls don't wear pants."

Noyuki balked for a moment, then composed himself. He was a sailor and a soldier of the Empire of Japan; a technicality such as a lack of pants surely would not distract him. Taking a moment to clear his throat, he pulled back the curtain.

The first person he laid eyes on was a Japanese woman wearing the upper half of a navy uniform who looked to be around his age. She had long black hair tied back into a ponytail and had an eyepatch of sorts over one of her eyes, and in one of her hands she carried a katana which Noyuki had seen being used in combat.

"You are Captain Noyuki, I presume?" the girl spoke, approaching him. Noyuki nodded in response. "And you are?"

"We have already talked on radio, but perhaps we should introduce ourselves in person." she smiled, extending a hand. "I am Major Sakamoto Mio of the Imperial Fuso Navy; European Dispatch and officer in the multinational 501st Joint Fighter Wing named "Strike Witches". I thank you for your part in aiding us in the battle against the Neuroi, as well as for saving the lives of my men."

"Captain Hitsumiro Noyuki of the Imperial Japanese Navy: First Battleship Fleet." Noyuki said, shaking her hand. "Our ship was merely acting in self defence and saving lives; actions which all human beings should be taking."

Inside, his mind was spinning and he was sure the same was happening to Mio. Strike Witches? European Dispatches? Officers with no pants? All of it was, admittedly, rather confusing and served to only add to his thought that the _Nagato_ was very, _very_ lost.

The Major gave a hearty laugh. "you may have reacted the same way most people would have, but your reactions have achieved far more than anything we could do. How did you manage to acquire such powerful weapons? Where is this "Japan" located?"

"...to be honest, I am not exactly sure, but..." Noyuki mused. As much as he did not want to touch the question with a ten meter stick, he had a feeling that it served as the key to answering any and all questions he had. "...Major," he asked, "What year is it?"

Mio frowned. "Why do you ask such a question? It is 1944."

Both Minori and Noyuki looked at the floor, realizing the full extent of their predicament. "Major..." Noyuki said slowly, "You may not believe us, but... we're from 1998."

Mio's eyes widened in surprise. "...no, no no no, that must be some sort of mistake." she said. "How do you explain your appearance here then?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Noyuki sighed. "But I will be honest with you: Seeing the _Akagi_, the Zero fighters and your antique uniforms are reminiscent of history textbook material back in our world."

Mio was about to reply when she paused. It _could_ be a plausible explanation – from what little she had seen of the ship, it was already blatantly obvious that it was much more advanced and powerful than anything even Fuso could build – she doubted that even the _Yamato_ could go up against this ship and stand a chance.

Before anything was further said, however, the phone rang. Noyuki walked over to answer it. "This is the Captain." he spoke before falling into silence. "I see... I understand. I'll head up there immediately. Call for general quarters." Hanging up the phone, he turned to Mio and Minori. "I'm returning to the bridge. I will be back later."

_Or so I hope._

XXXXX

"Captain," the Lieutenant saluted as Noyuki entered the bridge, "she is on the radio."

Noyuki nodded, looking out of the window to stare at a red-haired woman in one of those "striker units" aiming a rifle at the ship's bridge, no doubt ready to cut down the bridge crew at a moment's notice if necessary. All around the ship, crewmen had rifles aimed at various witches who had surrounded the ship and had raised their weapons against it.

Taking the radio, Noyuki spoke. "...this is Captain Hitsumiro Noyuki of the _Nagato_. Please respond."

There was a moment in which he could see the red-haired woman turn to focus her gaze on him through the glass. "...I am Wing Commander Minna Wilcke of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing." a female European voice spoke. "I will cut to the chase: We know that you have Major Sakamoto Mio on board, as well as several Fuso aviators. We demand that you stand down immediately and release the prisoners."

Noyuki frowned. "...I am afraid there has been a misunderstanding, Commander." he spoke. "We have no prisoners on board. We currently have Fuso Aviators, as well as your Major, on board for varying degrees of medical treatment."

"Lies!" A second voice, also Eurpoean, cut in. "Are you claiming that the Major was shot down!?"

"That is exactly what happened." Noyuki responded. "the Fuso Fleet she was travelling with encountered Neuroi and-"

"Are you daring to suggest that the Major was shot down!?" the second voice screeched. "How dare you, you filthy Neanderthal-"

"That's enough, Perrine!" the voice of the wing commander cut her off. "Captain, we received reports. We _know_ that you have prisoners. Release them immediately, or we _will_ open fire."

Noyuki stared. Was this really happening? Had he been set up?

Just when it seemed that the standoff would require a violent solution, Mio's voice appeared on the radio line. "Ah-ah... is that you, Commander?"

"Major!" 'Perrine"'s voice shouted out through the channel in delight. "Don't worry, we'll save you from those-"

"Save me? What nonsense are you talking about?" Mio asked. "I'm on the _Nagato_ receiving medical treatment."

There was an awkward pause on the radio line, followed up by a collective "eh?".

XXXXX

"I apologize for threatening the lives of you and your crew." Minna apologized to Noyuki. "I assure you that whoever was responsible for that false message will be held responsible for endangering your ship and nearly causing a friendly fire incident."

The collective members of the 501st were now on the deck of the _Nagato_, having landed after Mio informed that no, the _Nagato_ was not hostile. Some of the girls were already looking around the equipment on the deck, trying to figure out just what those advanced machines were.

Noyuki smiled. "All is forgiven, I assure you." he said. "Everyone just stood down from battle stations; I am sure that many are weary and mistakes should be forgiven."

Mio gave an awkward laugh. "I'm sorry you came out here for nothing." she told the rest of her wing. "I'm fine and the Neuroi are gone. Consider it a false alarm."

"In that case, we'll return to Britannia ahead of you." Minna nodded. And with that, the 501st departed, taking off from the deck of the ship.

"...Captain," the lieutenant whispered into his year as the girls flew off, "...did you notice it?"

"Notice what?" Noyuki asked his second in command.

"Just how... _young_ they are." the Lieutenant told him. "The Wing commander looks to be around your age, and everyone else looks younger... I swear on my life that the hyperactive girl has yet to reach puberty. From what I can tell... they look like child soldiers, sir."

"There must be some reason for that." Noyuki replied in a low voice. "Now let's go back to the bridge; we're approaching Britain... erm, Britannia."

"Aye, Captain." The Lieutenant saluted.

XXXXX

Britannia

If there had been any previous doubts that they had gone back in time, they were gone now. The _Nagato_ pulled into port alongside a ship which he recognized as a British World War Two era battleship. As well, the facilities, equipment and vehicles of the dockside workers were all obsolete, with soldiers wielding rifles that Noyuki saw displayed in museums. However, through the black uniforms of British sailors he saw a group of white gathered behind a single officer who was eagerly awaiting on the dock, looking right at the _Nagato_.

"...is that our welcoming party?" Noyuki frowned, seeing them from the bridge.

"I suppose that they will want to discuss matters with us... we _are_ strangers after all."

"Well I suppose that it is only proper that we go down there as well." Noyuki nodded. Leaving the bridge as the ship lowered it's anchor, Noyuki arrived on deck to see that Mio was already there, waiting for the plank to lower. Her legs were bandaged, but other than that her wounds were minor and she was already moving around again.

"Captain," she turned to him as he approached, "I hope you do not mind, but there is someone who says he wishes to examine the ship once the gangway is lowered. May I ask for your permission for him to board?"

"He is the Fuso officer standing on the dock, is he not?" Noyuki asked, to which Mio nodded. "Very well... I don't see the harm." _It isn't as if we have anything to hide, after all..._

Turning back to the docks, they saw that the gangway was already lowered and that the officer was climbing aboard, followed by two other men who were either also officers or were perhaps bodyguards. Immediately snapping to attention, Mio saluted the leading officer, who Noyuki noticed was rather elderly and highly decorated.

"Major Sakamoto Mio, arriving as ordered Sir." she said in a disciplined voice.

The elderly officer smiled as he returned her salute. "At ease, major." he said, and both officers lowered their salutes. "I have received your report about this ship, and I admit I am quite curious. A battleship that stood it's ground against two Neuroi... I am very intrigued."

The elderly officer then turned to Noyuki. "Are you Captain Hitsumiro Noyuki?" he asked. Noyuki was not sure what to do in this situation, considering that he had no knowledge of how the ranks actually worked in this world. After a moment of debating whether or not to salute, he decided against it considering that military protocol was already thrown out the window the moment he wasn't the first to greet the guest on board. "Yes." he nodded.

"You are quite young." the elderly officer smiled. "To be the Captain of such a powerful ship at such a young age... you must be quite talented and skilled."

"Thank you for the praise, sir." Noyuki said cautiously, now beginning to wonder who the man was. He felt an air of wisdom around the man; it was not really something he could describe – he seemed to be the sort of man who could lead men without needing the appearance of toughness, leading with gentleness instead of rigid discipline.

"Captain," Mio said as she appeared beside the elderly officer, "Allow me to introduce to you Admiral Takano Isoroku, Commander in Chief of the combined fleet of the Fuso Navy."

"A pleasure to meet you, sir." Noyuki said cautiously. So the man was an admiral. Noyuki kicked himself for failing to salute, but it was then something caught his ear.

_Commander in Chief of the Combined Fleet _

_Isoroku_

_Commander in Chief Isoroku... _

The last name was a bit different, but the admiral's appearance, conduct and air of wisdom were exactly as he had heard and read about in the textbooks. Noyuki's eyes widened as he made the connections and arrived at his conclusion.

"C-captain..." the Lieutenant said, his voice shaking in surprise as he too reached the same conclusion, "This... this admiral... without a doubt..."

It may have been an alternate world, but never in his wildest dreams did Noyuki believe that he would ever meet this man, who was already dead in the world they came from. The voice of wisdom within an Imperialist Japan, the man who had opposed the idea of Japan entering a war with the United States...

_Commander in Chief of the Combined Fleet... Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku!? _

XXXXX

"I apologize for coming onboard your ship without permission." The admiral apologized a few minutes later. The Admiral, as well as Noyuki, were now in the Admiral's temporary British Quarters. "I was looking forward to seeing your ship from the moment I heard the reports from the _Akagi_, and my curiosity got the better of me when I saw it for myself."

"I assure you that it was our honour to have you on board, Admiral." Noyuki said, still mildly flustered about the fact that he was meeting the man who was essentially an alternate version of his hero. The man's last name may be different, but he could tell that Admiral Takano was just as talented and wise as Admiral Yamamoto. "Our ship, I fear, is lost – and more than just physically."

"Mmm..." the admiral mused. "...to be honest, I do not know what to make of this situation. From what I heard from Major Sakamoto, it seems that your ship comes from 50 years into the future... and that neither Fuso nor Neuroi ever existed..."

"That is correct, Admiral." Noyuki nodded. "...Sir, if I may, just what on earth are the Neurois?"

"Neurois..." the Admiral sighed. "They are a strange – and presumably alien – race that appeared in the earlier turn of the century. We do not know where they come from nor who they are – all that we know is that they are enemies of humanity."

"Enemies of humanity... origins unknown... no possible methods of negotiations..." Noyuki muttered. It was just like the BETA, except the Neuroi seemed to be the polar opposites in terms of combat doctrine. While the BETA may prefer massed attacks using superior numbers, the Neuroi seemed to prefer the use of powerful individual deployments in low numbers.

"It seems as if such things exist in your world?" the admiral asked.

"Well... yes, but in a different shape and form." Noyuki admitted.

"Well then..." The admiral smiled. "if I may ask, can you tell me more about this "Japan" you serve?"

Noyuki paused for a while, thinking for a moment. "...Japan is located in the place where you call "Fuso" - my theory is that Fuso is this world's version of Japan." he explained. "In our world, around this time, there were no Neuroi."

"A world of peace without conflict..." the admiral frowned. "Or... it was not so simple, was it?"

"No." Noyuki shook his head. "Back then, our world was involved in a great war. Japan and Germany - " he pointed at Karlsland - "Were being ruled with a highly expansionist mindset. Our nation allied ourselves with Germany and attempted to gain global domination. In 1944... around this time... with over two million military and civilian casualties, our Greater Empire of Japan surrendered to the allied forces of America," he pointed at Liberion, "England," he pointed at Britannia, "France," he pointed at Gallia, "And the Soviet Union." he pointed at Orussia.

"...a global war..." the admiral mused. "...I am now beginning to wonder if the coming of the Neuroi meant something for humanity."

"What?" Noyuki asked, confused by the admiral's statement.

"From what you said, the world was involved in a great war with many humans killing each other. I am saying that perhaps that would have happened to our world had it not been for the Neuroi."

Noyuki fell silent. Isoroku had a point, however...

"Even then," Noyuki said, "the fact remains that the Neuroi are a clear and present threat to humanity. Humanity's best efforts should be directed at stopping them."

"I absolutely agree." Isoroku nodded. However, there was something that Noyuki as still concerned about. "...on the topic of the Neuroi..." Noyuki asked, "...I must ask why young girls are being sent into combat."

"You are referring to the witches." the admiral sighed. "An unfortunate necessity – you see, captain, I do not know whether the same thing exists in your world, but here, there is magic."

"...If I was confronted with this fact even twenty four hours ago, I would have decried you as insane, sir." Noyuki admitted. "However, after seeing the engagement against the Neuroi I must admit that that is a plausible explanation."

The admiral nodded. "Magic is the only effective way to battle the Neuroi. You saw what happened to the _Akagi_ and her escort fleet – conventional weapons do very little to harm it."

"Even so..." Noyuki asked, "Why young girls?"

"Magic is mainly limited to females, and even then their powers decrease with age. The teenage years are when a witch is at her most powerful."

Noyuki was about to protest that that did not justify the use of child soldiers, but he fell silent. Japan had no right to speak on the subject; no one did. Not with their own rapidly falling conscription and enlistment age restrictions. "...I understand the necessity, sir," he sighed, "...and I share your regret in sending them to battle."

"Thank you for understanding." the admiral nodded. "...well," he said after a few moment's of silence, "What do you plan to do now?"

"Pardon me, sir?"

"Your ship is, as you say, lost in another world that is 50 years behind yours." the admiral pointed out. "You will need to find a place to stay, as well as a place to receive supplies. There is no Japan here, after all."

Noyuki was silent. "...we will make do. We still have supplies-"

"They will not be enough. Any sailor worth his salt knows that a ship must have a dock." it was here that the admiral made a proposition. "...I have an offer for you."

"An offer?" Noyuki asked.

"how would you like to bring your ship under our command – temporarily, of course." Isoroku smiled. "I ask you to fight alongside us, and we will support you and your ship until you find a way home."

"You mean..." Noyuki paused. "You want our ship to join the Imperial Fuso Navy?"

"Of course, although we will respect the fact that you, your ship and your crew will always be in service to the Empire of Japan, first and foremost."

Noyuki was stunned. To serve under his childhood hero was indeed a very exciting prospect. However, he knew that this decision was not his to make. "...I must confer with my officers." he explained.

"Of course." the admiral smiled, standing up. "Thank you for taking the time to speak to me."

"Oh, no no no, not at all! Thank you for your offer!" Noyuki insisted, hastily following and shaking the admiral's hand. The captain left soon after, leaving Isoroku alone in the room.

XXXXX

_Nagato_

The last of the aviators were off the ship now, leaving only the original Japanese crewmen on board. As the sun was setting on Britannia, inside the ship's meeting room an officer's meeting was being held.

"Absolutely not!" the navigation officer slammed his fist on the desk. "We are sailors of Japan! How could we even _think_ of serving another nation!? This is desertion and treachery!"

"Furthermore, have you heard the ridiculous claims made by the Major while the Captain was in the meeting?" a weapon's master scoffed. "neither BETA nor Japan exists in this world, the humanity is fighting alien invaders known as "Neuroi" who could only be fought off by using pantless adolescent girls as soldiers!"

"Are you going to believe this nonsense, Lieutenant Abasaki!?" the navigation officer asked, hoping to gain his support as well.

The Lieutenant gave a sigh. "...did none of you see that battle?" he asked. "Those two hostiles were clearly not of human origin. Even then, they clearly opened fire and damaged our ship. Two hostiles not of human origins have clearly and physically damaged our ship. If that is not enough to satisfy the claim of Aliens known as "Neuroi", I do not know what is."

The rational statement sent murmurs through the room, but even then there was still opposition. "S-still!" the navigation officer objected, "The whole claim of witches-"

"Are you honestly that blind?" Minori growled. Unlike the tin-can sailors, she had no patience and therefore was very irritated by the navigational officer's objections. "I was out there flying and even I saw how those two girls did more damage to the hostile than _forty zero fighters and an entire fleet of ships._"

The room fell silent, then another officer spoke up. "Even then," he spoke, "even if the situation really is like this, that is no reason for us to abandon our duties as Japanese sailors. Joining this "Fuso" Navy is exactly the same as joining, say, the Americans!"

"We do not have much of a choice." Noyuki finally spoke. "We have no means of rest and resupply. Joining the Fuso Navy will only be temporary until we find a way home – and that will not be possible unless one of you understands the laws of time and space."

The room fell silent. "...so will we really abandon Japan?" the navigational officer asked.

"We are _not_ abandoning Japan." Noyuki clarified. "Think of it this way: We will be working together with the Fuso Navy and hoisting a Fuso Flag to avoid confusing the local populace until we find a definite way of returning home. "Does that make things easier for you all?"

There were a few more murmurs, then a collective sigh. "...I suppose we do not have much of a choice, sir."

Noyuki nodded. "Then it is decided. Our ship will temporarily join the Fuso Navy until we find a way back to Japan. Remember, Sadogashima has fallen and the BETA are poised to strike at the Mainland. We need to return, and as soon as possible."

XXXXX

It was a few days after their encounter with the _Akagi_. Still docked in Britannia, the _Nagato_ prepared to leave port for the first time as a Fuso ship. The _hinomaru_ was lowered and stored in a safe and secure place, and instead the different flag of the Fuso Empire was in it's place.

"Captain," the Lieutenant saluted as he approached Noyuki in the bridge, "we have orders from Admiral Takano. Our ship is to head to an island airbase nearby."

"That's it?" Noyuki asked. "Just us? No fleet?"

"No sir. Oh, and the Admiral requested for us to clear some quarters. Around ten or so."

"Ten quarters... he is planning on placing personnel on board." he sighed. "I know I agreed to this, but I cannot help but wonder what he is thinking."

"...time will tell, captain. Time will tell."

"Indeed." Noyuki nodded, facing forward."...engines on maximum. Prepare to leave port."

The _Nagato_ set sail, the Fuso flag fluttering proudly on it's mast.

XXXXX

_Fuso Army General Headquarters, Tokyo, Fuso_

"_Mysterious ship "Nagato" Joins Fuso Fleet_

_Sources in Britannia have released that the mysterious ship encountered by a Fuso Fleet in the Atlantic Ocean is indeed crewed by humans. While the exact origins of such a ship is unknown, Admiral Takano Isoroku, who had met the crew of the ship while in a joint command meeting in Britannia, has informed reporters that the ship's captain and crew have agreed to place themselves under the banner of the Fuso Navy. _

"_I have spoken to Noyuki Hitsumiro of the Nagato, and I can happily announce that the Nagato will be joining the Fuso Navy in the fight against the Neuroi." the Admiral, who was in Britannia for a meeting, announced._

_While the ship's exact capabilities are not fully understood, eyewitness reports from on board the Akagi claims that the Nagato is capable of withstanding direct Neuroi hits and is capable of firing what are described as streaks of light which follow it's target. Whether such claims are true or not is unclear, but it is certain that the Nagato is no ordinary ship. _

_However, leaders of other nations have expressed discontent at Fuso's recruiting of the Nagato. As President Roosevelt of Liberion has commented, "It was highly inappropriate of Fuso to claim the ship for themselves. If the Nagato is to truly contribute to the battle against the alien menace then the best way for it to do so would be to allow herself to be dismantled, so everyone can learn the secrets of her powerful weapons and so that all of humanity can benefit, not just a single nation." _

_Currently, the ship's deployment status remains a classified secret, although Admiral Takano has promised that "The Nagato will be aiding humanity in as many fronts as possible, and will be serving the interests of all of humanity, not just those of Fuso's." _

_None of the ship's crew have been available for comment. _

Setting the newspaper down, a bald man wearing a highly decorated army uniform and round glasses smirked. "...nothing about the witches attacking the ship, although I suppose Takano has kept that a secret."

"In a way, however," his aide spoke, "that might have been for the better. The acquisition of this advanced ship would further our goals much farther than the discrediting of the 501st for a "friendly fire" incident."

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. "General Hideyuki, your guest has arrived."

"Ah, Maloney's messenger has come!" 'General Hideyuki' smiled as he stood. Opening the door, he let the man in. "Welcome to Fuso Headquarters. You have a message from Maloney, yes?"

"Of course." the man nodded. "It is a pleasure to meet you... General Hideyuki Tojo."

XXXXX

END OF CHAPTER 2

Notes: Any resemblances to any persons alive or dead is... the same way that Strike Witches treats them.

As with the series, there will be a human conflict in this fic. In the next chapter, the _Nagato_ will finally meet the witches of the 501st proper.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

XXXXX

_London, Britannia 1944_

Within the confines of a Britannian military base, Admiral Takano Isoroku was in a room filled with officers from the nations of Liberion, Suomos, Orrusia, Britannia, Gallia, Romanga and Karlsland. The officers from the major powers were gathered in a meeting room, staring at the admiral, who had called them there to propose a course of action that the other leaders were less than enthusiastic about. Fuso's acquisition of the _Nagato_ had already been a major shift in power in favour of Fuso, which already had the advantage that it was neither under siege nor occupation at the hands of an alien power bent on eliminating all human life.

"...So... in other words," Admiral Nimitz of Liberion asked, "not only did you claim the strange ship _Nagato_ for yourselves, but now you also want us to place _our_ witches on board?" he scoffed. "Why on earth would we contribute? Britannia may be under attack, but Fuso has no need for any further witches."

"I understand your objections," Takano assured him, "and I would agree with your statements. However, I have an idea which, if successful, will benefit all of our nations."

"What I see," an Orussian naval admiral asked, "is you asking to put our resources onto your ship."

"As I said, I understand. However, with the approval of the Fuso Imperial Court, I propose that the _Nagato_ be sent to aid in the European front."

That sent murmurs down through the meeting hall. Finally, a Gallian officer cleared his throat. "I... mean no disrespect, of course," he began, "But I fail to see how a battleship – a formidable one at that, but still a battleship – could do much against the Neuroi and warrant gathering us all here. I am sure you are aware that battleships are not quite as effective in the battle doctrines against the Neuroi."

"I do not intend to deploy the _Nagato_ as a battleship." Takano replied, which sent even further murmurs down the hall.

"Then what?" A Karlslandian Officer stood. "A battleship that would not be deployed as such!? You might as well be sending extra liabilities then!" The Karlslander was followed by further outbursts from the European officers, but Admiral Nimitz turned to his Fuso counterpart, having a feeling he knew that Takano was going to suggest. "...a carrier, isn't it?"

That one phrase silenced the meeting room.

"That is correct." Takano smiled. "Gentlemen, as you are all aware, at the present moment the joint fighter wings are all based on the ground. The reason for this is simple – the ships of our time are, unfortunately, much too fragile in combat against the Neuroi. Losing their carrier ship would mean the loss of the strike witches as well, and that would be a major, perhaps even decisive defeat against the Neuroi.

And that is why I wish to use the _Nagato_." The Admiral continued. "The _Nagato_ has been witnessed firsthand having capabilities far beyond what our ships could achieve. With this ship, the implementation of a single Joint Mobile Carrier Fleet is possible."

If the officers had doubts about the meeting before, they were gone now. The addition of a Joint Mobile Carrier Fleet, a Joint Fighter Wing acting as a force multiplier capable of rapidly relocating to respond to increased Neuroi pressure, was a very tempting prospect. The hostile attitude against Takano had completely disappeared, replaced by an enthusiastic will to turn this new proposal into action as soon as possible.

After working out the details and guidelines regarding the authority over the ship, Nimitz turned to the Fuso Admiral. "Well," he smiled. "do you have a specific witch wing on board?"

"I do."

XXXXX

_Nagato_, _en route to Britannian Base _

"...Carrier? Our ship?"

It was midday, with the ship approaching the designated Britannian base. Noyuki and Hiroshi were on the bridge, reading new orders that had been sent allegedly directly from the Fuso Admiral himself.

"Yes Captain." the second in command nodded. "We are apparently to house several witches on board our ship. That is why we were asked to set aside ten or so rooms."

Noyuki hesitated. Although as an officer who had successfully graduated from the military academy he was competent in commanding carrier operations, he had never actually done so in live combat. However, he feared the alternative should he express his doubts about the orders, which would undoubtedly be the addition of a carrier commander on board to "guide" the ship.

Weighing the options of having an outsider be privy to the sensitive information on board the ship compared to taking a role he had minimal combat experience in, he decided that if he could preform miracles with a carrier in the academy, he could preform one here as well. "...I guess orders are orders, lieutenant." he sighed. "what about the arrangements? Quarters for the witches and service crew? Area in the helicopter hanger?"

"Already being taken care of." The lieutenant explained. "The men had taken the initiative and did everything they recognized as required for the addition of what we take to be the equivalent of a fighter wing."

Noyuki allowed himself a small smile, knowing his crewmen were still on top of their duties despite everything that had happened.

"The witch wing is ready to be brought on board already, and from the information we received on their dossiers they are quite the international team, with witches from Finland – erm, Suomos, and Orussia as well as Gallia and even Romania."

"Rome?" Noyuki asked, surprised the civilization had survived in this world.

"Italy, sir."

"Ahh..." Noyuki shook his head. "Sorry about that. I suppose it will take a while for me to get accustomed to the nations of this world."

"You've been working too hard, sir." the Lieutenant replied in worry. "Ever since we... we arrived in this world, you have been working yourself tired – and please don't lie to me sir, I've seen the lights on your room hours after you were off duty."

Noyuki remained silent, refusing to comment on the further any longer. It was true: since they had arrived in this world, he had spent most of his time studying the world's geography, history and battle doctrine. He could not allow himself to stay in the latter half of the century: this was 1940, and he felt a great need to get himself caught up. With this enemy known as "Neuroi", just like with the BETA a single mistake would cost lives – a cost too high for him to pay. Not only was there the problem that the crewmen of this world could not possibly operate the systems of the _Nagato_, to Noyuki letting his crewmen die was among the highest betrayal between Captain and crew he could think of.

"...why are you remaining silent, sir?" the Lieutenant asked for a while.

"Because you asked me not to lie."

There was a moment of silence, and then the two officers laughed, as did the bridge crew. It was a good feeling, relieving some of the stress that had plagued them ever since the loss of Sadogashima. After the laughter had someone subsided into chuckles, the lieutenant handed Noyuki a note.

"What's this?" he asked, a smile still on his face.

"A doctor's note." the lieutenant said. "Sleep."

Noyuki balked. Even though he was the captain of the ship, he still could not deny a health professional telling him that he was destroying his own health through a lack of sleep.

"We still have two days before reaching the base." Hiroshi reminded him. "You shouldn't present yourself with bags under your eyes."

Noyuki tried to think of something – _anything _to get him out of being essentially ordered by the ship's doctor into doing something, but at last he relented.

"I'll... get some hours in tonight." he conceded.

Hiroshi smiled. Even though he was the second in command and Noyuki was the captain, as the elder he still felt a bit of responsibility for Noyuki. "And don't bother trying to work with the lights off."

"You know me too well."

XXXXX

_A few days later _

_Britannian Military Base, Former Headquarters of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing _

"...There it is." Mio called out, watching the horizon with her magical eye. "The _Nagato_ is coming."

The rest of the girls peered, trying to find the ship that they had been mistakenly ordered to attack a few days prior. To them, it was an extremely strange and unprecedented situation: moving permanently onboard a ship was something that they had not expected a witch to be asked to do.

"But still," a tall Liberion girl with orange hair asked as she leaned back on a wall, "Are we really going to be based on a battleship? I mean, where will we even take off from?"

"The _Nagato_ has a flat area on it's rear from which they launch their wingless aircraft." Mio explained. "If I'm correct, we'll be launching from there."

"I really have to wonder what they have on board that ship." Wing Commander Minna Wilcke pondered. "I mean, even from what we just saw on the outside, they seem to have things beyond our wildest imaginations."

The girls then turned to Mio, who they knew was the one who had actually been inside that ship. Quickly realizing that their attentions were on her, she sighed. "Well, hm... I did see glowing screens of sorts – I don't know, but I think that they have videos that are much more and much clearer than anything we have. I heard some sort of beeping in that medical wing of theirs, and it felt a lot cleaner too."

Just then, there was the sound of a blaring horn in the distance, and the girls looked up. "There it is!"

From the horizon, the _Nagato _came forward, it's shape – simple in comparison to the ships of their world – coming closer.

From the bridge of the _Nagato_, Noyuki could not help but gasp at the sight of the castle that was the headquarters of the witches. It was reminiscent of a gleaming fortress, with it's white walls perhaps disguising the actions that went on inside.

"Captain..." Hiroshi said, gesturing outside of their window, "Look, the witches are on the docks already."

Noyuki looked out the window to see the girls on the dock. He recognized them all – and it was not exactly a pleasant memory, with some of them having aimed weapons at his ship with the intention of harming his crew. However, that was in the past, and it was also an action that was caused by a mistake that was not theirs.

It was then that a thought came to mind. Getting on the intercom, he announced: "Attention, Lieutenant Kinoshita Minori, please report to the bridge. I repeat, Lieutenant Kinoshita, to the bridge."

A few minutes passed as the ship continued approaching the base before the commander of Dolphin unit arrived. "Reporting as ordered, Captain." she saluted.

Noyuki nodded. "Good. Thanks for coming, Lieutenant. When we welcome the witches on board, I want you to be with us."

There was a pause, during which Noyuki figured she was most likely trying to figure out why he would ask that of her. His reasoning was simple: Out of the officers on board this ship, she was the one who was closest to the witches and would most likely get along with them. After all, she was close to their age and was also a pilot.

Finally, she nodded. "Understood, captain."

"Alright." Noyuki smiled. "Stay on the bridge; we'll head down together.

The leader of Dolphin unit saluted, stepping back and heading to look out the window at the castle that was the Britannian base.

"Cut the engines." Noyuki ordered a few moments later. "Prepare to lower the anchor.

"Aye Captain." the helmsman turned the wheel, and the _Nagato_ slid into the dock before coming to a stop, it's anchors lowering into the water and making a splash as it submerged. After hearing the reports from his bridge crew that everything was as it should be, he turned to Minori. "Now then, let's head down." he said as he headed out the door and began descending the stairs down the control tower.

"Yes sir." she said, following him down.

On the deck, Noyuki and Minori walked down the gangplank. When Minori had heard there would be a wing of witches on board, she had expected a group of complete strangers. However, when they set foot on the dock, dry land, she found that she recognized one.

The witch who was in front of the group stepped forward and saluted. "Wing Commander Minna Wilcke, 501st Strike Witches Joint Fighter Wing, reporting as ordered."

Noyuki nodded as he returned her salute. "At ease." he instructed, and both of them lowered their hands. He looked at the entire group. "Is that all of you?"

"Yes." the wing commander nodded.

"...No maintenance crews? No one to adjust your striker units as necessary?" Noyuki asked, making sure that there would be no problems that could not be fixed once the _Nagato_ left port.

"We know how to take care of our own machines, Captain." the wing commander responded. "our striker units do not have problems that will require a complete repair." On the off chance that their striker units actually did develop problems, Minna was confident that Shirley would be able to deal with it.

"...I understand." Noyuki nodded. "I see that you are all packed up and ready to go, so let us not have any further distractions."

The wing commander snapped to attention again. "Permission to come aboard." she asked, following military protocol more than anything else now.

"Permission granted." Noyuki nodded, and together the group walked and stepped onto the deck of the _Nagato_. The girls of the 501st looked around, with some of them examining the metallic surroundings.

"Now then..." Noyuki turned towards the wing. "As airborne additions, you will be staying with the pilots of our ship's craft – namely, the pilots of our ship's aircraft." he explained. "Lieutenant Kinoshita here will be your guide on board this ship. If you have any questions, comments or concerns you can ask her."

The leader of Dolphin unit paled a bit when she realized that this was the reason the captain had called for her. Out of everyone on the ship, she had the three most closest similarities to the witches of this world: she was female, she was young and she was a pilot of sorts. Perhaps it was due to these three reasons that Noyuki expected her to be able to get along with the witches. However, the fact remained that these eleven girls were still strangers – and from a completely different world at that. They would not be any less awkward to speak to if they were green and came from Mars.

It didn't help that she was _still _curious as to why they didn't wear any pants.

Clearing those concerns away, she stepped forward to make her presence prominent to the group. "I'm Lieutenant Kinoshita Minori, Commander of Dolphin unit." she introduced herself.

"Wing Commander Minna Wilcke." the Karlslandian witch nodded. "We will be in your care, Lieutenant."

It had just occurred to Minori that this bloomer wearing woman was technically of a much higher rank than her. However, when she wondered whether she had superiority over Noyuki as well she recalled that a wing commander from the air branch of service was not higher than a naval captain, and it somewhat relieved her that someone she knew would be staying in charge. "Of course. I will do my best."

Noyuki then spoke up again. "I'm afraid I must return to the bridge now. Lieutenant, perhaps you could get them settled into their rooms and then give them a tour of the ship."

"Yes sir!" she saluted, and Noyuki headed back up the control tower The moment the door to the control tower closed, she turned back to the witches and faced a certain witch in particular. "Good to see you're back in action, flygirl." she smiled.

"It's been a while, Dolphin-Lead." Mio returned the smile, confusing the other witches with the sole exception of Yoshika. "Major," a brunette asked her, "Do you know her?"

"She's the leader of the pilots of those wingless aircraft I told you about." Mio explained. "They fly the skies just like us, although they protect lives by saving instead of fighting."

Turning back to the rest of the witches of the 501st, Minori smiled. "I'm sure we'll get to know each other later. Please, follow me. I will show you to your quarters."

XXXXX

Compared to what could have been possible on board a ship, it was not so bad. Each witch had her own quarters, each with a bed, a table, a shelf, a lamp and a porthole they could open to look outside. At the very least, the witches could have their privacy.

After each witch had set their stuff down inside their rooms, they followed Minori around the ship.

"This here is the lounge." she said, opening the door to a medium sized room with several couches, a flat-screen tv with several dvds, a pool table and two people, one of whom was trying to enjoy a good book and another who was constantly enthusiastically speaking to the first, much to the first's annoyance. However, both of them looked up when they saw the group coming in.

"Hey, Minori," the man who was enthusiastically annoying his reading friend said, "are they the witches coming on board?"

"Yes they are." she replied.

"In that case, welcome aboard the _Nagato_." the man smiled. "I've always wondered this, but why don't you girls-"

The question was cut off by a swift uppercut right into the gut by Minori, who had a bulging vein on her head. The first man, who had put down his book, chuckled at the scene as the rest of the girls gasped in surprise.

"Don't mind him." Minori smiled at the girls even as the man she had struck in the gut fell to the floor, "he's insensitive like that. Anyways, this idiot kneeling on the ground right now is Flying officer Shirokawa, and the guy who is reading the book is Sergeant Sagawa."

"I remember the two of you." Mio remarked. "You three were on the helicopter."

"On a more important note..." one of the witches turned to Shirokawa, "Are you sure it's okay to strike a comrade like that?"

"Don't mind their antics, they're always like that." Sagawa assured the witches. "And before you ask about rank, Captain's rule: there are no ranks in the lounge."

Some of the girls were relieved that the captain did not seem to be an exceedingly strict man, while Barkhorn frowned on the lack of discipline that the captain allowed. That was to be expected, however. After all, for a soldier of Karlsland, the first rule was discipline, the second rule was discipline, and the third, fourth and fifth rules were also discipline.

Moving forward, the group arrived at the mess hall. At this time of the day, there were barely any sailors inside. However, something else caught the group's attention, particularly that of Yoshika and Mio. From the kitchens behind the counter, where the cooks were busy preparing the evening's meals, the very familiar scent of Fuso cuisine wafted into the noses of the witches. "U-um... Kinoshita-san?" the younger Fuso girl asked nervously.

"Yes?" she turned with a smile, trying to reassure girl she recognized as the one who recklessly took off from the _Akagi_.

"Um... is it... is it okay if we take a look at the kitchen?" Yoshika asked.

"Of course." Minori nodded. Taking them behind the counter, she pulled two curtains to the side, revealing the kitchens of the _Nagato_. Inside the kitchens of the battleship, the chefs were busy preparing grilled fish and miso soup, both of them traditional Fuso cuisine.

"It really is Fuso food..." Yoshika said in amazement. "I didn't think that your people would eat this sort of food."

"Well, from what the captain said," Minori said, "apparently our nation of Japan is pretty much Fuso in a different world, so you'll probably see a lot of similarities."

The group moved on, this time arriving at a location that brought a smile to the more enthusiastic witches on the wing: the training room.

Although some of the equipment were indeed strange and advanced, the heavy smell of sweat and odour, as well as the familiar sight of weights brought a familiar feeling to those of them who liked to train on their off time.

On the far side of the training room, Lieutenant Abasaki Hiroshi, Noyuki's second in command of the ship, was standing on a tatami floor dressed in full kendo gear. He had with him a wooden practice sword and was practising a few swings. Satisfied with his performance for now, he set his sword down and removed his helmet before turning to face the girls.

As his attention settled on the group, Minori snapped to attention and saluted the second in command of the ship. Hiroshi returned the salute before smiling. "The new wing, I presume? I'm Lieutenant Abasaki, second in command of the _Nagato_. On behalf of the crew, I welcome you aboard."

The group exchanged introductions with the lieutenant before heading towards their most important destination: the hangar bay.

The _Nagato_'s hanger was a structure that was located under the shadow of the rear turret. Inside it, the three helicopters of Dolphin Unit were lying dormant, with several engineers working on them. Some of the girls were dubious about the aeronautic capabilities of the sea-king helicopters, questioning whether a vehicle with neither magic nor wings could really fly, but Mio, who had only recently been a passenger on one of the helicopters, assured them that the helicopters were just as air-worthy as the striker units.

The striker units themselves were lined up on the sides of the wall, therefore ensuring that the helicopters would still be able to exit the hanger and take off should the need arise without having to move the striker units away. At the same time, the girls could still sortie without any complications.

XXXXX

"The equipment and supplies have been successfully loaded, captain." the supply officer reported to Noyuki on the bridge. Minori was still taking the girls on a tour around the ship, and there was still a while before the _Nagato_ was to leave port for her first assignment as a Joint Mobile Carrier.

They were expecting relative peace for a while, hoping to slowly integrate the witches onto the ship and then slowly discuss the structure of command, as well as procedures, but then a sudden shout shattered any hope of a quiet afternoon.

"Captain! Bogey spotted on the radar! From the northwest, distance 200 km and closing in fast!"

Noyuki turned to the radar officer. "Are you certain?"

"No doubt about it; it has the same signature as the Neuroi we fought a few days ago!"

Noyuki nodded and then got on the radio. "Bogey spotted, bogey spotted. All hands, general quarters. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill! Strike Witches deploy, Dolphin unit remain on standby!"

XXXXX

"What's going on?" Yoshika asked, startled by the sound of the blaring alarm.

"It's an enemy attack." Minori explained calmly. "I need to get to my helicopter."

Mio nodded. "Like the Captain ordered, we will deploy." And with that, the witches ran towards their striker units. As they got on, Minori and the rest of the hanger crew could not help but notice the magical circles that formed on the ground around the witches.

"_Shinjirarenai_,(I can't believe it)..." one of the mechanics muttered. "All of this crazy talk of magic... it was true!"

"We've seen strange things before, haven't we?" Minori reminded the mechanic as she got on the pilot seat of her helicopter. "Come on, man up. We've got a job to do."

And with that, she watched as the witches assumed formation within the hanger and flew off the moment the hanger doors opened wide enough.

XXXXX

"Target is a medium-size Neuroi, moving at about 600 kilometres per hour." Noyuki's voice came over the headsets to each witch in a cool, professional voice. "Radar suggests that it is currently alone, and it's predicted course puts it right over the airbase."

"Roger." Mio replied over the radio as she and the rest of the wing flew towards the hostile witch. She was impressed – the last time she and the _Nagato_ had been in a battle, the captain had no idea what he was facing, but this time he seemed to be much more confident, almost as if he had been fighting the Neuroi his entire life.

However, as much as she wanted to ask where the captain acquired his newfound confidence, now was not the time and she knew it. Soon, the Neuroi that was headed towards their base, a fast mover that looked like a large arrow, came within view.

"It's all alone." She said to the rest of the wing. "Surround it and eliminate it! Don't let it get any closer to the base!"

"Roger!"

It was supposed to end in a matter of seconds. A typical single Neuroi was standard opposition for the witches of the 501st, and there was nothing to suggest that this particular Neuroi would be any different.

Which was why it shocked the girls when the Neuroi split off into not two, not three, but _seven_ different parts.

"It's a drone type!" Gertrude gasped in surprise. "We need to find it's main body!"

Mio removed her eyepatch, trying to see which of the pieces the Neuroi core was in. However, she was distracted when three of the drones threatened to plow right through her. Raising her altitude and avoiding the drones just in time, she saw that they were headed towards the base, and by extension the _Nagato_.

"Captain Hitsumiro!" she yelled into the radio, "The Neuroi broke into drones! Three of them are headed your way!"

XXXXX

Back on the bridge of the _Nagato_, there was some nervous murmuring among the operators when they heard that the Neuroi produced drones, but Noyuki stayed calm. "Understood, Major. We'll take care of it. You girls try to take down the core as soon as possible."

Noyuki was not surprised - this was where his self inflicted sleep deprivation payed off. When reading through the mountain of documents he had forced himself to sit down and examine, he payed particular attention to the different types of Neuroi. As such, the existence of the drones did not throw him off guard.

"Orders captain?" Hiroshi, in his place as the second in command, asked.

"Activate the anti-air defences. Spin up the CIWS. Load the sea sparrows."

There were three drones headed their way, presumably hoping to destroy the base without any interference from the witches. And without the witches, they would have gotten away with it.

Well, if it wasn't for some meddling dimension travellers and their ship.

The bridge crew was on edge, waiting for the captain to give the order to launch the missiles, fire, _anything_. The tension was thick enough it felt like it could be cut with a knife.

XXXXX

On one of the higher floors of the castle that was part of the Britannian base, Admiral Isoroku stood on a balcony, watching the harbour, the _Nagato_ and, even further on the horizon, the three Neuroi drones headed this way.

"Admiral, sir!" a member of the Britannian guard detail insisted, "please, we need to get you to shelter!"

After the meeting discussing the formation of the joint carrier force, some of the admirals had returned to their homelands, but Takano knew that at least three other admirals remained – his counterparts from Liberion, Gallia and Britannia were still on the base, but they had left for shelter when the Neuroi alarm rang.

Takano, however, insisted on staying. He was the one who invited the _Nagato_ into the Fuso navy, and now he felt a duty to stay, as if he felt compelled to watch over the young captain he knew was standing on the ship's bridge.

"I will be fine!" the admiral insisted. "Leave me and get to the shelter!"

The Britannian soldier hesitated, know that it would be a major international problem if the Fuso Admiral was killed in Britannia, but he saluted before heading down the stairs towards the shelter.

Now alone, Takano gave a small smile. _Now, Nagato_, he said, his curiosity rising, _show me what you can do._

XXXXX

_Almost... almost..._

Noyuki gripped his command console, his mind never straying from keeping it's attention on the distance between the three neuroi drones and the ship.

Then, there was a shout. "Track numbers 1901 and 1902, locked on!"

_Now!_

"Launch Sea-sparrows one and two!" he ordered.

"Launching sea-sparrow missiles!"

From the bridge windows, they could see two trails of smokes from the side from where the missiles launched. The two missiles streaked across the sky, hitting the two drones in front which disappeared in the explosion, not reappearing when the smoke cleared.

_One more._

The third Neuroi drone continued heading directly towards the base, and the _Nagato_ was forced to turn to her secondary weaponry to use against the threat. It's turret's spinning, all of the CIWS turrets on board the _Nagato_ took aim and fired at the remaining drone.

It was a gamble and Noyuki knew it. If the CIWS failed in destroying the drone, it had a clear shot at the base, endangering any high ranking officer inside. He could not let that happen.

The drone approached closer and closer to the base, finally flying right over the _Nagato_. Unlike the first battle, the CIWS were incapable of keeping up with this new, much faster hostile.

"Damn!" Noyuki turned around and looked out the rear window. "Is the second salvo of sparrows ready yet!?"

"N-not yet, sir! Fifteen more seconds!"

"Fifteen!? The Neuroi will demolish the base in five!"

Noyuki watched helplessly as the drone's front portion glowed, ready to fire a beam of red light and perhaps bisecting the base, when all of a sudden it exploded into white shards which fell from the sky.

_What-_

It took him a moment to realize that the witches must have successfully destroyed the core. Noyuki sighed in relief.

_That was too close._ He scolded himself.

"Captain Hitsumiro," Mio's voice sounded in his headset, "enemy eliminated. How is it on your end?"

"Two drones shot down. A third nearly got there, but you girls stopped it just in time. Good work everyone, we're done."

XXXXX

On the balcony, Takano smiled. He knew that the young captain had made the right choice in firing at the two drones in the lead. His curiosity was satisfied in seeing the _Nagato_ fire her missiles, which he realized were the "streaks of light" so often talked about.

Assured of the _Nagato_'s combat capabilities, Takano knew that the time had come. There had been discussion about it beforehand, even before the arrival of the _Nagato_, but her arrival had given them a possible trump card against the Neuroi.

The time to strike was now. In agreement with the other world leaders, the world was ready to attempt to liberate Gallia from the Neuroi threat.

XXXXX

End of Chapter 3


End file.
